GMG - Las Vegas Weekly

September 12, 2013

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NIGHTS
C O C KTA I L O F T H E W E E K
SUCK IT
AND SEE
Mingo's Blow Pop is
naughty and nice
> CALL ON ME Confetti
showers on XS guests during
Eric Prydz's Black Dice set.
A N ATO M Y O F A DA N C E F LO O R
DON'T FEEL LIKE DANCING
Everything but grooving was in the hearts of those taking in Eric Prydz's
Black Dice set at XS BY MIKE PREVATT
showered and covered with silver confetti. Five minutes
after that, the cryo steam blasts started in earnest. A little
later, streamers shot out, and after it looked like we'd
been silly-stringed with fancy, we were left tripping over
the shiny ropes tangled on the ground.
The crowd certainly reacted with the same zeal as if it
was watching Steve Angello, despite Prydz playing a notch
(or four) below his fellow Swede, ﬁnding a smart and still
savory middle ground. I was surrounded by whoopers and
jumpers during his "2Night"—though, frankly, I felt compelled to join them upon hearing Karl Hyde's vocal sample
from Underworld's "Two Months Off."
Once the jauntier "Take Me With You" by Cosmos
started, we moved back to the danceﬂoor halfway point,
my boyfriend barely escaping an orgy of dry-humpers.
Streamers were now the least of our problems, as a collection of empty glasses was pooling at our feet. Prydz's
dance-pop anthem "Every Day" only provoked more
audience cheerleading/nondancing. I felt like I was in
the student section at a college basketball game—or back
at Coachella watching his Sahara Tent set.
And then, the energy began dipping. Prydz countered
with his pounding "Power Drive," and yet the crowd—
mostly international tourists, judging by the omnipresent
B.O.—still sluggishly moved about. Had it hit a wall as the
set nearly completed its second hour?
Prydz was still due to peak, and did so with a one-two
combo of his modest remix of Calvin Harris' "Flashback"
and his less-humbling reworking of Depeche Mode's
"Personal Jesus," which woke most of the crowd up. A
bachelor party reached out to touch not faith, but its man
of the weekend, hoisting him up. Lucky guy, he couldn't
twist his ankle on all the glass—and it wasn't like he was
dancing anyway.
RECIPE:
2 oz. Bacardi Dragon
Berry rum
1 oz. strawberry purée
1 oz. fresh lime juice
Splash of Saracco
Moscato d'Asti
Blow Pop (garnish)
k Add rum, strawberry purée and lime juice to shaker.
Shake vigorously and strain
into a tall glass over ice. Top
with Moscato and garnish
with the Blow Pop.
ERIC PRYDZ BY DANNY MAHONEY/SX NIGHTCLUB; BLOW POP BY SAM MORRIS
We hoped for a proper danceﬂoor experience with
Black Dice, Eric Prydz's supposed exercise in megaclub
minimalism. What we got was a mineﬁeld.
The producer/DJ re-upped his exclusivity contract
at Wynn/Encore with a premise hyped to downplay the
ﬂash and pop of the typical Strip party, favoring a darker
ambiance and more progressive soundtrack. But that was
largely lost on the messy crowd—and, to some extent, the
production staff—at XS on September 6.
Opener Kris Nilsson wisely wound his set down
to a steady subterranean groove in preparation for
Prydz's 1:20 a.m. start. As soon as the Swedish beatmaker
emerged behind the console—this native Angeleno cheering Prydz's choice in Dodgers headgear—a crush of fans
and overzealous partiers stormed the front of the danceﬂoor, where some of us had been shufﬂing casually and
comfortably.
Now, we were becoming very intimate with one another, even inadvertently propping up those whose alcohol
intake impeded upright mobility. I did my best not to
clock an ambling couple that stomped on my toes like
they were grapes; thankfully, a no-nonsense Prydz enthusiast shoved them about 10 feet away from us, and some
room opened up. All around us: rah-rah-ing fans and a
bunch of amateur photographers. But where was the
dancing?
The problem: Your typical clubber isn't about bringing
the boogie, but ﬂailing about in ways that would embarrass Ed Grimley. All eyes are always on the DJ or the
production display around him. It's part spectacle, part
concert, without the inhibition-dropping movements
that enable people to lose themselves in the music.
And minimal, Black Dice wasn't. Seven minutes in, to
the strains of Leventina's "Medical Insurance," we were
Whether you're thirsty
for an outrageous drink or
just want to practice some
Miley Cyrus-style tonguetwerking, the Blow Pop
($12) is the cocktail that
keeps on giving.
When describing this
naughtily named drink,
Mingo Kitchen & Lounge
co-owner Mingo Collaso
says: "Sparkling wine, rum,
candy and gum. What else
could you ask for?!" The
full experience involves
taking a sip, then taking a
lick. Tart strawberry-lime
flavors coat the mouth,
then are counterbalanced
by a sweet latex sensation from the hard candy.
The Blow Pop even comes
with its own caveat: "Spit
the gum, don't swallow.
#unlessyouwantto."
–Sabrina Chapman
28 LASVEGASWEEKLY.COM SEPTEMBER 12–18, 2013
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